sorry if it’s a stupid question!! but how do you go about making your characters personalities? they’re all really compelling and relatable and i was wondering how authors and artists like you are able to create depth to characters and if you’d have any advice for how to make them seem more real!
I don't really have a step-by-step process for this. Mostly I just spend inordinate amounts of time ruminating about them. Here's some things that might be useful, though - - Borrow from real people you know. (But maybe don't tell those people you've done that, because things can get weird...) - Borrow tidbits from historical figures, or other fictional characters who've been of interest to you. Don't copy someone else's ideas directly, of course...but remember it is actually completely natural and necessary to be inspired by multitudes of things if you mean to create something of your own. - Figure out where your character came from, even if you never reveal that information in canon. Create a backstory. So much of a character's specifics will come from their upbringing, the type of environment they were raised in, the types of people they were surrounded by, the value system they were taught to uphold, their early triumphs and traumas. - Play free-association games. Make lists of what words, colors, sounds, smells, places, shapes, flowers, animals, or iconography you associate with the character. Think about objects they might have in their pockets, or what that they might hang on their walls or stuff into a drawer. Meditations like this can lead you to think about the character from different angles. - Make music playlists. Collect songs that sort of remind you of a particular character. Play it on a loop and get lost in those thoughts and feelings. - If a thought strikes you, write it down - make note of it. Then keep writing if thoughts keep coming. (I often sketch the character in tandem with this sort of exercise.)
